hansen



March 22, 1955 H. s. HANSEN 2,704,508

PRESSURE CONTROL MEANS FOR BALING PRESSES Filed Sept. 23, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H 5.Ha m 2 March 22, 1955 H. s. HANSEN 2,704,508

PRESSURE CONTROL MEANS FOR BALING PRESSES Filed Sept. 25, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I F'gi 1 h United States Patent C) PRESSURE CONTROL MEANS FOR BALHWG PRESSES Harold Stanley Hansen, Orini, via Taupiri, Auckland, New Zealand, assignor of one-half to David William Cutler Cooper, Morrinsville, New Zealand Application September 23, 1949, Serial No. 117,421

10 Claims. (Cl. 100-43) The invention relates to presses used in baling hay and the like, and in connection with which it was known prior to this application, to apply pressure to material being baled, by contracting the baling compartment of the press in addition to pressure applied to said material by operation of the plunger of the press in said compartment, the two pressures being applied by separate and independently operated means, in no way connected with each other as regards their operations.

The object of the invention, is to provide improvements in the aforesaid type of press, whereby the two pressures aforesaid are enabled to be co-related or are caused to act in conjunction with each other and render the press self adjusting as regards control and regulation of the pressure applying means, to ensure that material being baled will be compressed uniformly to a required degree, with a minimum of attention and supervision by the person in charge of the press.

Broadly, therefore, the invention may be said to consist in providing a press for hay and the like, having a baling compartment wherein material to be compressed is subjected to pressure by operation of a plunger in said compartment, and also to pressure by contraction of the latter, characterised by the provision of means adapted for operation by material being compressed under the action of the plunger, to bring about the contraction of said compartment.

The means adapted to be operated by the material being compressed, to result in the contracting pressure being applied, can comprise a toothed or spiked wheel mounted for engagement with said material and geared with means for causing the application of the contracting pressure.

Also, in order to stop the application of pressure upon the material having become compressed to a desired degree, there is provided in the baling compartment a sliding bar or plate adapted to be actuated by the compressed material, to interrupt the drive to the contracting pressure applying means, and so result in the application of said pressure ceasing.

Other features are also included in the invention, which will however be more particularly described with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation,

Figure 2 is a plan view, of portion of a baling press fitted with the improvements,

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view thereof taken on line 3-3 in Fig. 1,

Figure 4 is a detail view in elevation of operating means for the clutch in the drive to the contracting pressure applying means,

Figure 5 a view in elevation of an alternative form of means of operating the contracting pressure applying means,

Figure 6 is a part perspective view (broken) of the improved baler,

Figure 7 is a plan view partly .in section of the clutch illustrating the means of interrupting the compression applied to the baling compartment,

Figure 8 is a part plan view of the baling compartment with drive gearing and clutch removed to illustrate the sliding relationship of the plate 11 to the baler, and

Figure 9 is a part elevation of Figure 7.

The baling compartment of the press is formed by a top 1, a bottom 2, and sides 3, of which said top 1 and the sides 3 are mounted on the press frame 4 by toggle links 5, so that said top 1, and said sides 3 can be caused to move inwards to apply a contracting pressure to material in said compartment, the bottom 2 being fixed, all in known manner.

The means for causing this contracting pressure to be applied, according to the invention, comprise, a toothed or spiked wheel 6 keyed on a cross shaft 7 mounted above the baling compartment, and between which shaft 7 and a further cross shaft 8, also mounted above the baling compartment, a chain and sprocket drive 9 is provided.

Blocks and rope tackle 10 are arranged and connected between lugs or extensions 1 from the top 1, and lugs or extensions 2 from the bottom 2 of the baling compartment at each side thereof; the free ends of the ropes are wound on the shaft 8 driven through chain and sprocket drive 9 by the toothed or spiked wheel 6. The winding in of said ropes on the shaft 8 causes the block and tackle gear 10 to draw the top 1 downwards towards the bottom 2, and by virtue of the toggle links 5 between the sides 3 and the top 1 and the bottom 2, to also cause said sides 3 to move inwards and so bring about the contraction of the baling compartment to apply contracting pressure to the material therein.

There is provided in the top 1 of the baling compartment, a friction bar or plate 11 containing a slot 12 through which the toothed or spiked wheel 6 projects into said compartment, said bar or plate 11 having secured thereto guides 11 which engage over the top 1 and enable it to slide along on same; also the upper surface of said bar or plate 11 is adapted to bear against rollers 13 mounted above the top 1 in order to resist outward or upward pressure of the compressed material in the baling compartment, and also to facilitate sliding movement of said bar or plate 11 under travel of the compressed ma terial in the baling compartment.

Friction between the compressed material and the sliding bar or plate 11, caused by the pressure against the latter, of said material, results in said bar or plate 11 travelling along the top 1 of the baling compartment with said material, against the action of a spring 14 attached at one end to the bar or plate 11, and anchored at its other end to a bracket 14 attached to the top 1 of the compartment.

The sliding bar or plate 11 has thereon a bracket 11 which is connected by a link 15 with one leg of a bell crank lever 16 mounted above the top 1 of the baling compartment, the other leg of said lever 16 being connected by a link 17 with an arm 18 on a horizontal shaft 19 turnable in a sleeve 19 mounted in a support 1. The said shaft 19 is mounted on and extends lengthways of the compartment top 1, said shaft 19 being formed with a yoke or fork 20 disposed over the sliding member of a clutch 21 on the shaft 7 carrying the toothed or spiked wheel 6.

The clutch 21 is provided for interrupting the drive 9 to the shaft 8 from which said block and tackle contracting means 10 are operated. Sliding movement of the bar or plate 11, in one direction, causes partial turning movement of the shaft 19 with the yoke or fork 20 thereon, the latter containing opposed recesses 20 in which are entered pins 21 on the sliding member of the clutch 21.

When partial turning movement is imparted to said shaft 19 as the result of sliding movement of the bar or plate 11 caused by travel of the material being compressed, the drive 9 is interrupted or broken, While partial turning movement of said shaft 19, caused by return sliding movement of the bar or plate 11 under the action of the spring 14 connected therewith, restores the drive 9 aforesaid to the shaft 8 from which the block and tackle contracting means 10 are operated.

The shaft 19 with the yoke or fork 20 thereon, is provided with a handle 19a by means of which it can be operated to interrupt or to restore the drive 9 to the shaft 8; also the toothed or spiked wheel 6 is provided with a ratchet and pawl 22 to prevent reverse turning of said vli11eel 6, should traction of hay on its teeth occasionally The clutch 21 is a conventional friction plate type clutch in which a spring normally forces the clutch housing and the plates carried thereby into engagement with the plates carried by the hub of the spiked wheel 6. Thus if the shaft 19 is rocked counter-clockwise, Figure 7, resultant movement of the fork 20 will move the clutch housing against the action of the spring so that the frictional contact between the plates will be broken and the spiked wheel 6 will not transmit drive to the sprocket 9. Upon reverse movement of the shaft 19, the resultant movement of the yoke or fork 20, combined with the action of the spring mounted around shaft 7, will effect reengagement of the plates of the clutch.

In an alternative arrangement (Fig. the shaft 8 from which the block and tackle contracting means 10 are operated, can have toothed pinions 23 secured thereon, said pinions 23 meshing with toothed racks 24 operable vertically in guides 25 on the frame 4 of the apparatus, and having connected thereto the free ends of the ropes of the block and tackle arrangements 10 aforesaid, which operate to bring about the contraction of the compartment as before described, except that the ropes do not wind on to a shaft 8. or the like.

Thus, in operation, with material fed into the baling compartment and passed along in same towards the discharge end thereof, under the operation of the usual plunger 26 therein, in known manner, the material in a more or less compressed condition, engages the toothed or spiked wheel 6, and turns same to drive the shaft 8 from which the contracting means 10 are operated, whereby the discharge end of the baling compartment is contracted and affords resistance to the material being passed along in said compartment by the plunger 26, and when this resistance tends to exceed a predetermined degree, the sliding bar or plate 11 is by reason of its frictional contact with the travelling material, caused to travel with the material and actuate the clutch 21 to interrupt the drive 9 to the shaft 8 from which the contracting means 10 are operated, whereupon the application of further contracting pressure to the top 1 and sides 3 of the compartment ceases, and upon the contracting pressure adjusting itself to the circumstances, the sliding bar or plate 11 is given return sliding movement by its attached spring 14, to re-set the clutch 21 and restore the drive 9 to the shaftd8 from which the contracting means 10 are operate What I do claim and desire to obtain by Letters Patent of the United States of America is:

1. In a press for baling hay, means defining a baling compartment including means providing a contractable discharge end, a plunger operable in the baling compartment to compress material therein, a spiked wheel rotatably mounted on the baling compartment, said wheel projecting into the same at the discharge end so that movement of material in the compartment effects rotation of the wheel, means for contracting the discharge end of the baling compartment including drivable means to apply contracting pressure to material therein, gearing normally connecting said wheel in driving relationship with the said drivable means, and means for interrupting the driving relationship between the wheel and the drivable means to interrupt the application of the contracting pressure during a baling operation.

2. In a press for baling hay, means defining a baling compartment including means providing a contractable discharge end, a plunger operable in the baling compartment to compress material therein, a spiked wheel rotatably mounted on the baling compartment, said wheel projecting into the same at the discharge end so that movement of material in the compartment effects rotation of the wheel, means for contracting the discharge end of the baling compartment including drivable means to apply contracting pressure to material therein, gearing normally connecting said wheel in driving relationship with the said drivable means, means for interrupting the driving relationship between the wheel and the drivable means to interrupt the application of the contracting pressure during a baling operation, and said last mentioned means including a slidable member contactable by and movable in response to the movement of material in the compartment.

3. In a press for baling hay, means defining a baling compartment including means providing a contractable discharge end, a plunger operable in the baling compartment to compress material therein, a main shaft mounted on the baling compartment, a spiked wheel mounted on said shaft and projecting into the baling compartment at the discharge end so that the wheel is engaged by and rotated in response to longitudinal movement of the material through the compartment, a secondary shaft, gearing connecting the said wheel to said shaft in driving relationship so that said secondary shaft normally rotates in response to the rotation of said wheel, block and tackle arrangements including ropes connected to said secondary shaft contracting the contractable discharge end, and means for interrupting the driving relationship of the gearing to interrupt contracting pressure during baling operations.

4. In a press for baling hay, means defining a baling compartment including means providing a contractable discharge end, a plunger operable in the baling compartment for compressing material therein, a shaft mounted on the baling compartment, toothed pinions keyed on said shaft, toothed racks meshing with said pinions and movable thereby, the said contractable end including movable walls and block and tackle arrangements including ropes operably connected between said racks and said walls so that movement of the racks effects movement of the walls to contract said discharge end, means driving said shaft including a member engageable by and movable in response to movement of the material through the baling compartment and constituting the sole power source for applying movement to said shaft, and control means for said driving means operable to interrupt the driving relationship thereof so as to interrupt the contraction of said discharge end during baling operations.

5. In a press for baling hay, means defining a baling compartment including movable walls providing a contractable discharge end, a plunger operable in the baling compartment for compressing material therein, main and secondary shafts mounted on said baling compartment, gearing mounted on the shafts for normally connecting the shafts together in driving relationship, means for moving the movable walls to contract the discharge end including means driven by said main shaft so that movement of the walls and thereby the discharge end is dependent upon rotation of said main shaft, a clutch mounted on said secondary shaft and normally operably connected to the gearing so that the shafts are in normal driving relationship, means carried by said secondary shaft projecting into a baling compartment and engageable by and movable in response to movement of material therethrough for driving said secondary shaft and thereby said main shaft, and a slidable member operably connected with the clutch for declutching the same, said last mentioned member being movable in response to the frictional engagement of material therewith to interrupt the drive between the shafts.

6. In a press for baling hay, means defining a baling compartment including movable walls providing a contractable discharge end, a plunger operable in the baling compartment to compress material therein, means projecting into the baling compartment and engageable by and movable in response to movement of the material therethrough, said last mentioned means constituting a drive means, drivable means operably connected with the movable walls to move the same to thereby contract the discharge end, means including a normally engaged clutch for connecting the drive means to the drivable means, said contractable walls including a top wall, a plate slidable in said top wall and constituting a portion thereof, a spring anchored at one end and connected at its other end to said plate for normally urging the same for movement in one direction, a turnable shaft, linkage means including a bell crank lever connecting the plate to the shaft and operable to partially turn the same in one direction upon movement of the plate against the action of said spring, means operably coupling said shaft with said clutch so that said shaft declutches said clutch when turned in said one direction so as to interrupt contracting movement of said walls, said plate being movable against the action of said spring in response to the frictional engagement thereagainst and movement of material through the baling compartment, and said spring upon cessation of said frictional engagement moving the plate in the reverse direction so that the linkage means turns said shaft in the reverse direction whereby the clutch is re-engaged.

7. In a press for baling hay, means providing a baling compartment including contractable walls providing a contractable discharge end, a plunger operable in the baling compartment for compressing material therein, a turnable shaft extending parallel with the longitudinal axis of the compartment, means projecting into the compartment engageable with material therein and movable thereby, said means constituting a driving means, drivable means operably connected with said contractable walls to contract the same to apply contracting pressure to the material at the discharge end, power transmitting means including a clutch connecting the-driving means to the drivable means, said clutch including a slidable member movable between clutch engaged and disengaged position and normally in clutch engaged position, a yoke carried by said shaft and engageable with said slidable member whereby partial turning movement of the shaft in one direction effects disengagement of the clutch, and means for turning said shaft in said onedirection.

8. In a press for baling hay as defined in and by claim 7, in which the means for turning said shaft in one direction are manually operable.

9. In a press for baling hay as defined in and by claim 7, in which the means for effecting turning movement of said shaft includes a member in frictional engagement with and movable by material in the baling compartment.

10. In a press for baling hay, means defining a baling compartment including contractable walls providing a contractable discharge end, a plunger operable in the baling compartment to compress material therein, said contractable walls including a top wall, a plate slidable References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 365,211 Wickey June 21, 1887 1,288,656 North Dec. 24, 1918 1,766,570 Wallace June 24, 1930 2,389,510 Hitchcock Nov. 20, 1945 2,478,012 Raney Aug. 2, 1949 2,494,033 Burkett Jan. 10, 1950 2,610,575 Wuertz Sept. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 346,846 Germany Jan. 9, 1922 

